Here Are the Country’s Top 10 Most Walkable Cities. Is Yours On the List?

Our metro areas are rapidly becoming more walkable, and you have the evolving preferences of the Millennial generation to thank for it.

Researchers from George Washington University issued a report this week that assessed the “walkable urban places” in the country’s 30 largest metro areas. Crossing the walkability finish line first were Washington D.C., New York City, and Boston. (In contrast, Phoenix, Tampa and Denver contain only about 5% of office and retail space in walkable areas.)

But interestingly, cities such as Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles—expansion in which have historically been tied to the car-and-driver set—are rapidly shifting toward “walkable urban development,” say researchers.

“It’s the kids. It’s the Millennials … that are driving this,” says Christopher Leinberger, of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at GWU. “They want great urbanism that their kids [can] walk to.”

How does your town rank on the walkability factor? And what kind of city do you want for your (current or future!) families?